The Side Door
by Bandit Orchid
Summary: MOVIE AND ANIME SPOILERS! Alphonse is back at the gate, but this time, there's a door to the side of the gate, and it leads to another world, The non anime world!
1. Chapter 1

The Side Door

Prologue

A young man and what appeared to be just a suit of armor stood side by side, staring into the mesmerizing vortex of red and orange. The churning colors played patterns on the man and the armor, seeming to dye the young adult's long blonde hair strange shades and hues. He whispered something to the armor, and it stepped forward, trembling slightly. The portal began to pulsate much like a human heart when it sensed a being near it. The patterns in the twenty foot entry to somewhere sank back, then burst forward with incredible speed.

"Go," The young man said emotionlessly, knowing that the passage through the portal could kill his younger sibling. The armor nodded and stepped into the whirlpool of color. He began to fade away, almost as if he was dissolving. "Brother! Help!" the armor cried, but Edward Elric remained motionless, as though he was frozen to where he stood. The last motion Al saw of his older brother was a lifting of his head, and his mouth forming the words, "I'm sorry, Alphonse."

No, the younger sibling thought, this was just like that day! He wouldn't do this again! He fought against the current of the portal, until he was standing in front of a frighteningly familiar gate. This was it, he thought, I'm dead now. The massive gate began to open, when Al noticed something that was not there the last time he was here, or so he thought. There was an intricately carved door off to the side of the ominous gate. The door beckoned him, not with words, but with emotions. He walked to it almost involuntarily, and opened it. A massive draft pulled him through, and the side door slammed behind him.

Chapter One

Adriana and Isabelle roamed the streets of the quaint town in which they lived. The two girls had a tendency to break into song together, and were prone to random fits of laughter. Adri, as Isabelle called her, was younger than the friend she walked with at the age of sixteen. Isabelle was eighteen, and had thick brown hair that went a little past her shoulder blades. Adri, on the other hand, had shorter blond hair, along with wearing lighter colors and much more pink than Isabelle. The two approached Isabelle's house and petted her "Devil Dogs," whose names were Bogart and Stella. "Can you come over tomorrow, Izzy?" Adri asked, waving to her friend as a goodbye. When Izzy nodded, Adri added, "Bring some Fullmetal Alchemist! You know how much I need that series!" They waved once again, and Adri headed home.

On her way home, Adri decided to head toward the peaceful shores of the lake that brimmed the town. She strolled on the sidewalk, enjoying the light breeze that teased her hair. The lake was calm as glass, and so clear and clean that one could see fish swimming underneath the docks. She sat on one of those docks, dangling her feet in the cool water. A duck came by and nibbled at her toes, and she prodded it with her other foot. The ducks were so tame from all the people who fed them so much.

Her state of peace was disturbed, however, when something rather large fell into the lake about one hundred feet away from her. She stared at it's wake, wondering what the heck it was. She was utterly horrified when a person came bursting to the surface a few moments later. She stood up and waved both arms above her head at the person, who began to swim toward her after she did so.

-x-x-x-

After opening the door, Al had fallen into chilly water and had no time to hold his breath before he was submersed. His armor sank quickly, and he frantically pushed the head off of the suit and clawed his way out. The lithe and slim fifteen-year-old boy burst to the surface, his light brown hair clinging to the sides of his face. He spotted a girl waving her arms on what appeared to be the shore, and he swam toward her. He paused, though, when he noticed something different about his surroundings. Everything looked the same in shape, but the colors were richer, and there were more details. It was quite beautiful, actually. He continued to swim toward her, and when he reached her she pulled him up onto the dock.

-x-x-x-

When the person who had fallen into the lake reached her, Adri pulled him or her on to the deck. When she saw the person's face, it was clear to her that he was a young man, and he looked oddly familiar. He actually reminded her of her favorite anime character, Alphonse Elric. She helped him to stand and asked him his name, not bothering to ask where the hell he fell from.

"I'm Al, Alphonse Elric." He said, and Adri burst into laughter.

"What are you? Some obsessive cosplayer? You pull it off very nicely!" She said, still giggling. Al gave her a confused look.

"Cosplayer? What's that?" he asked her, honestly confused. Why would she doubt something so simple as his name?

"You mean to say that you are the real Alphonse Elric? How did you fall into that lake?" She pressed further, still not believing for obvious reasons that this was really Al.

"I went through a portal and ended up at that terrible gate again, but why am I troubling you with this? You wouldn't know of the gate, or the side door…" He trailed off, shrugging and beginning to walk away. Adri grabbed his arm as he began to leave, and dragged him with her. "Where are you taking me?" Al asked, his voice shaking.

"To my house. We're gonna clear this up, and get you something dry to wear." She said, and led him to a yellow Victorian style house. "My parents aren't home," She mumbled, fumbling with the keys to the door. One they were inside, Adri told him to stay put. She ran up the stairs and grabbed her least feminine pair of jeans and a baggy tee shirt. If this was the _real_ Alphonse Elric…She shook the thought from her head. That was impossible, what was she thinking?

She stumbled down the stairs and thrust the clothing into his arms, pointing to the bathroom. Once the door was closed, she lunged for the telephone, and called Isabelle. "HOLAAA!!" Came the answer on the other line.

"Izzy, Get over here, NOW! And bring some FMA!" Adri said, speaking very quickly. "I think we may have some one here…Just come!" She hung up, and a few moments later Al came out of the bathroom. The clothes fit him surprisingly well.

"I feel ridiculous," He muttered, trying to pull the low rise pants up.

A few minutes later, an electronic buzzing could be heard, almost like a quiet motorcycle. Adri looked out the window to see Izzy racing down the hill on _Adri's_ motor scooter. "That Bitch stole my motor scooter!!" Adri exclaimed as Izzy pulled into her driveway, her bag full of Fullmetal Alchemist DVD's.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Ramblings: Hey! I know it's taking me forever to get these chapters out, but I have a few other stories running right now. I'll keep plugging away!

* * *

The Side Door

Chapter Two

* * *

Adri let Isabelle in through her own side door, and took her aside. 

"Listen," The sixteen year old whispered to her friend, "You're gonna think this is insane but we may have an actual anime character…._here_! Look!" She glanced over her shoulder at Alphonse, who had taken quite well to Adri's black and white cat, and was stroking him gently.

Isabelle looked past Adri with a questioning expression. "He looks just like Al from FMA!" She exclaimed in a whisper when she saw him."

"Sounds like him too. The voice is a bit deeper, but still Al's. We just need to see his reaction to the anime." Replied Adri. She went to Al and dragged him to the television. "Come on, lets prove that you're not a psycho cosplayer," She said to him.

Al sat on the far end of the couch. Adri hoped they weren't scaring him, this was all very new if he was proven to be actually from the anime. She noticed Izzy was unable to peel her eyes from Al until she set the DVD in the player and started the renowned series. After much hassling with the sizable remote control, the first episode of Fullmetal Alchemist began.

Alphonse immediately brightened at the sight of his world. "That looks like it does at home!" He exclaimed. "The scenery looks like it really does. Al turned back to the television. "Hey! That's my armor!" He noticed as the first scene came on. He paused at the sight of the younger versions of himself and his brother, and cringed at their screams. "How…?" He asked, his expressive eyes filling with tears.

"It's called Anime, and somehow you got into this world," Adri explained. "Your life, your appearance, your entire _being_ was created by someone in this world."

"Hiromu Arakawa, to be exact!" Izzy chirped, smiling. Adri glared at her, but a confused Alphonse interrupted them.

"It doesn't make sense…" He whispered. Staring at the floor. "My choices have always been my own! I don't feel controlled at all."

Adri nodded, and moved a bit closer to him. "You can stay here, or at Izzy's. Our parents went on vacation for a while, so it's just us." She tried to sound understanding rather that excited so to not further upset him. This would have to be their secret. No one would believe that there was an anime character here.

Al merely stared into the galaxies of his mind, thinking of his brother, and getting back home. After a few minutes of this, Adri and Isabelle began to stare at him, confused. He snapped back to reality, blushing when he noticed this. "Yea…that sounds good…thanks…" he trailed off, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"Alphonse?" Adri asked, stirring him from his day dreaming again. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," came his distant sounding reply. _Exactly,_ Adri thought. _It's been two years since the movie, so he would be fifteen. And that means…_She realized this with faint shock. _Edward's twenty!_ She felt slightly faint from the fact that the beloved aniume character was now an adult; it didn't seem possible.

This time, Izzy roused Adri from her daydream. "He can borrow some of my brother's clothes." She suggested, noticing Al's apparel. "Yours look ridiculous on him." She added, causing Al to blush even more.

-x-x-x-

Over the past few days, Alphonse stayed with Adri, and the awkwardness between them decreased. They often visited the quaint town that resided next to the lake, going out to lunch at the various cafes. Izzy joined them on most of these excursions, and the two girls were almost enough fun to allow Alphonse to temporarily forget where he was, away from home and his brother. Until one day when there was another splash in the lake. The three friends did not hear it, but when Al turned to look at the lake, he saw something very unexpected.

"Brother?!"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Hey! Sorry there hasn't been a new chapter in SO LONG! I put htis

He couldn't stand it anymore. Edward Elric had gone through the portal he had sent Al into. If his little brother was dead, he didn't want to live, and if he was alive, Ed wanted to be with him. After a while of searching, Ed had re located it, and dove in headfirst. His stomach plummeted when he saw where it had led him. The gate. He was there again, but this time it felt different. He found himself drawn to the side of the gate, to a smaller and less intricate door. He strode to it with newfound confidence that had come out of nowhere, and it opened by itself. A strong draft sucked him in, and he almost immediately was surrounded by ice cold water. The twenty year old Alchemist struggled to the surface, his eyes closed. When he was able to open his golden eyes, Ed spotted the shore and swam to it stiffly. It seemed like he had been swimming for years when he reached he docks, and he hauled his freezing body out of the water.

Ed sat on the dock a moment, letting the warm sun thaw his muscles. It was only when he turned his head out of the sun did he see the difference of his surroundings, and he gasped. The shapes of everything were the same, but the colors were so vibrant! It seemed so different, yet oddly the same, and it was quite beautiful. Edward just couldn't stop staring at how intricate everything looked. He was interrupted from his thoughts when a boat pulled up to the dock, the driver motioning for him to move. He stood sorely and stiffly, then stepped off toward the town. Maybe he could stay here until he found Al, if his brother had survived. His worries and questions were all answered with one word from one voice.

"Brother?!"

Ed's head snapped up.

-x-x-x-

Adri and Izzy stared in amazement at the sight to be held. There, standing before them, was Edward Elric being smothered by Alphonse. Al had an ecstatic smile on his face, and Edward smiled back, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"Al, I thought you died," Ed said quietly, still holding his brother and closing his eyes.

Al laughed joyously. "Brother! This world is amazing! They have great food! And computers and iPods and…" Al backed away from Ed and looked at Adri and Izzy. "This is Adrina and her friend Isabelle." The brown haired boy said, still grinning. Edward waved, smiling gently, and Adri blushed.

_He's beautiful,_ She thought, _Look at that long hair, he's even better in real life!_

Their introductions were cut short, however, when a girl with short "emo-cut" black hair approached Adri. She had fiery orange contact lenses in, and was wearing a black puffy vest that made her appear very flat chested. Her pants were black and baggy, and had silver chains hanging from various places and pockets. "Hey Adri, Izzy." She said with an irritable tone.

"Hey Danny!" Adri replied to her. The nineteen-year-old's name was actually Danika, but she preferred to be called Danny for some reason. _It's probably too girly for her,_ Adri thought. "What's the scoop on The Divorce?"

Danny sighed heavily and took a sip of Adri's iced coffee. "Custody battles. Just as long as I don't end up with the Bitch, I'm alright."

"Do you need somewhere to stay?" Adri asked kindly, "Just as long as there are no parties and my parents don't find out, it's fine."

The nineteen year old smiled half-heartedly. "Adri, that would rock," She said, slamming Adri's iced coffee down on the table, causing it to spill over the top slightly.

Alphonse turned to his older brother and grinned once again. "Brother, come stay with us! If that's ok, Adrina…" He said, blushing, afraid that he had gone too far. Adri nodded, exasperated. She paid for her and Izzy's lunches, and started off toward her home, which now seemed like a hotel. Before she turned to cross the street, she noticed that Edward was constantly staring at Danny, perhaps with an even desiring look in his eye.

-x-x-x-

Author's Note: From now on, much of the story will be from Edward's point of view. That's just because I switched the ending around. Thanks!


End file.
